In recent years, the use of artificial decorative or Christmas trees has become increasingly popular. In addition to being durable, artificial Christmas trees can be made in a variety of styles. The artificial tree can be removed from storage each year during the holiday season, assembled and decorated. At the end of the holidays, the artificial tree is then disassembled and stored until next Christmas.
Some commercially available artificial Christmas trees include a permanent tree trunk and limb assembly with the limbs secured along the trunk at fixed positions. Other forms of artificial Christmas trees include a folding limb arrangement whereby the limbs remain secured to the tree trunk but fold upwardly and inwardly along the trunk for storage purposes.
Most commercially available artificial Christmas trees and associated artificial tree lighting displays suffer from numerous drawbacks. For example, many existing simulated tree light displays have a great number of pieces that must be assembled in a particular manner. If one of the pieces is lost or broken, the display either cannot be properly assembled or, if assembled, does not have adequate structural stability. Additionally the simulated trees and associated lighting displays may be frustrating to assemble as the numerous pieces are difficult to place together.
Furthermore, some artificial Christmas trees and lighting arrangements suffer from lack of versatility and prevent variations in the shape and size of the ornamentation. This often results in the Christmas decorations being placed in the same location and looking the same year after year. Also, some simulated Christmas tree light displays cannot be easily disassembled resulting in the need for a large amount of storage space.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved artificial tree and associated lighting display. It is a general object of the present invention to provide such an improved artificial tree and associated lighting display.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a combination artificial tree-lighting arrangement, the combination being connectable to an electrical power source for providing an illuminated decoration, the combination comprising: a generally elongated tree trunk, the tree trunk defining a trunk longitudinal axis; at least one connecting component, the connecting component being mountable on the tree trunk; at least one display component mountable on the connecting component, the display component having at least one tree limb extending therefrom, the display component also having at least one lighting cable extending therefrom, the lighting cable being supportable by the tree limb and being provided with at least one decorative light; an electrical circuitry connectable to the electrical power source, the electrical circuitry being attachable to the connecting component, the electrical circuitry including a connecting component-to-light coupling means for electrically coupling the connecting component to the decorative light, the connecting component-to-light coupling means allowing the display component to rotate relative to the connecting component about a rotation axis substantially parallel to the trunk longitudinal axis while maintaining the electrical coupling between the connecting component and the decorative light.
Typically, the connecting component is provided with a connecting component-to-trunk attachment means for allowing attachment of the connecting component at various locations along the trunk longitudinal axis.
Conveniently, the combination comprises two connecting components and two corresponding display components, the electrical circuitry further including connecting component-to-connecting component electrical coupling means for electrically coupling the two connecting components.
Typically, at least one of the connecting components is provided with a connecting component-to-trunk attachment means for allowing attachment of the connecting component at various locations along the trunk longitudinal axis, the connecting component-to-trunk attachment means allowing adjustment of the spacing between the connecting components, the connecting component-to-connecting component electrical coupling means maintaining the electrical coupling between the coupling components within a predetermined spacing range between the connecting components.
Conveniently, the tree limb is pivotable relative to the display component between a limb extended configuration and a limb retracted configuration wherein the tree limb forms an angle having respectively a larger and a smaller value relative to the trunk longitudinal axis.
Typically, the lighting cable is releasably attachable to the display component. Conveniently, the display component has two tree limbs extending therefrom, the display component also having two corresponding lighting cables extending therefrom, each of the lighting cables being supportable by a corresponding tree limb and being provided with at least one decorative light; wherein the lighting cables are interchangeable.
Typically, the combination further comprises two connecting components and two corresponding display components, the electrical circuitry further including connecting component-to-connecting component electrical coupling means for electrically the two connecting components; at least one of the connecting components being provided with a connecting component-to-trunk attachment means for allowing attachment of the connecting component at various locations along the trunk longitudinal axis, the connecting component-to-trunk attachment means allowing adjustment of the spacing between the connecting components, the connecting component-to-connecting component electrical coupling means maintaining the electrical coupling between the coupling components within a predetermined spacing range between the connecting component; at least one of the display components having two tree limbs extending therefrom, the at least one of the display components also having two corresponding lighting cables extending therefrom, each of the lighting cables being supportable by a corresponding tree limb; the lighting cables being releasably attachable and interchangeable.
Conveniently, the connecting component includes a substantially cylindrical connecting wall, the connecting wall being configured and sized for being slidably and substantially fittingly insertable over a corresponding longitudinal section of the tree trunk; the connecting component also including a connecting flange extending outwardly and substantially radially from the connecting wall substantially adjacent a lower peripheral edge thereof; the display component including a substantially cylindrical display wall, the display wall being configured and sized for being slidably and substantially fittingly insertable over at least a portion of the connecting wall, the display wall being also configured and sized for allowing a lower peripheral edge thereof to abuttingly rest on the connecting flange.
Typically, the display component is also provided with a display arm extending outwardly and substantially radially from the outer surface of the display wall; the display arm being provided with a limb attachment means for attaching the tree limb and a lighting cable coupling means for electrically coupling and attaching the lighting cable.
Conveniently, the tree limb is pivotable relative to the display component between a limb extended configuration and a limb retracted configuration wherein the tree limb forms an angle having respectively a larger and a smaller value relative to the trunk longitudinal axis; the limb attachment means including a substantially cylindrical limb base attached to a proximal end of the tree limb; the limb attachment means also including a limb receiving recess formed in the display arm, the limb receiving recess defining a base receiving section configured and sized for substantially fittingly and pivotally receiving the limb base and a limb abutment section extending from the base receiving section for abuttingly limiting the pivotal movement of the limb between the limb extended and retracted configurations.
Typically, the lighting cable coupling means includes a cable plug attached to a proximal end of the lighting cable, the cable plug having a plug body and a pair of plug prongs extending from the plug body, the plug prongs being electrically coupled to the lighting cable; the lighting cable coupling means also including a plug receiving recess formed is the display arm for receiving the plug body and a pair of prong sockets formed in the plug receiving recess for receiving the plug prongs and allowing electrical coupling between the plug prongs and the prong sockets, the prong sockets being electrically coupled to a corresponding pair of arm wires extending at least partially through the display arm.
Conveniently, the lighting cable coupling means includes a pair of coupling strips extending substantially circumferentially from the limb base, the coupling strips being electrically coupled to a proximal end of the lighting cable; the lighting cable coupling means also including a pair of strip contacting components for contacting the coupling strips and allowing electrical coupling between the coupling strips and the strip contacting components, the strip contacting components protruding from a contacting component receiving recess formed in the display arm; the strip contacting components being electrically coupled to a corresponding pair of arm wires extending at least partially through the display arm.
Typically, the connecting component-to-light coupling means includes a first and a second connecting component coupling ring, the connecting component first and second coupling rings being mounted on the connecting component and being electrically connectable to the electrical power source, the connecting component-to-light coupling means includes a first and a second display component coupling ring, the display component first and second coupling rings being mounted on the display component and connectable to the lighting cable, the first and second connecting component coupling rings and the first and second display component coupling rings being configured, positioned and sized for allowing electrical coupling respectively therebetween so as to allow electrical coupling of the lighting cable to the electrical power source when the display component is operatively mounted on the connecting component.
Conveniently, the first and second connecting component coupling rings are positioned respectively on an outer surface of the connecting wall and on an upper surface of the connecting flange and wherein the first and second display component coupling rings are positioned respectively on an inner surface of the display wall and on a lower peripheral edge of the display wall.
Typically, the combination comprises two connecting components and two corresponding display components, the electrical circuitry further including connecting component-to-connecting component electrical coupling means for electrically the two connecting components; the first and second connecting component coupling rings being electrically coupled to both to a connecting component male plug and a connecting component female plug respectively by a first ring-to-male plug cable and a second ring-to-male plug cable and by a first ring-to-female plug cable and a second ring-to-female plug cable; the connecting component-to-connecting component electrical coupling means including a connecting component-to-connecting component cable for electrically coupling the connecting component male and female plugs of adjacent connecting components.
Conveniently, the display component has two tree limbs extending therefrom, the display component also having two corresponding lighting cables extending therefrom, each of the lighting cables being supportable by a corresponding tree limb and being provided with at least one decorative light; the lighting cables being electrically coupled in serie to the electrical power source.
Typically, the display component has two tree limbs extending therefrom, the display component also having two corresponding lighting cables extending therefrom, each of the lighting cables being supportable by a corresponding tree limb and being provided with at least one decorative light; the lighting cables being electrically coupled in parallel to the electrical power source.
In accordance with the present invention, there is also provided a combination artificial tree-lighting arrangement, the combination being connectable to an electrical power source for providing an illuminated decoration, the combination comprising: a generally elongated tree trunk, the tree trunk defining a trunk longitudinal axis; at least one connecting component, the connecting component being mountable on the tree trunk; at least one display component mountable on the connecting component, the display component having at least one tree limb extending therefrom, the display component also having at least one lighting cable extending therefrom, the lighting cable being supportable by the tree limb and being provided with at least one decorative light; an electrical circuitry connectable to the electrical power source, the electrical circuitry being attachable to the connecting component, the electrical circuitry including a connecting component-to-light coupling means for electrically coupling the connecting component to the decorative light, the connecting component-to-light coupling means allowing the display component to rotate relative to the connecting component about a rotation axis substantially parallel to the trunk longitudinal axis while maintaining the electrical coupling between the connecting component and the decorative light; the lighting cable being releasably attachable to the display component.
Advantages of the present invention include that the proposed artificial Christmas tree and associated light display is designed so as to provide an aesthetically pleasing visual appearance. Also, the proposed structure allows for variations in the visual effect produced by the branches and associated lighting display.
Furthermore, the proposed structure facilitates assembly and disassembly of the artificial Christmas tree and associated light structure through a set of quick and ergonomic steps without requiring special tooling or manual dexterity. Still furthermore, the proposed structure allows the Christmas tree and associated lighting display to be folded in a generally compact configuration when not in use so as to reduce the storage space.
Still furthermore, the proposed structure is designed so as to be manufacturable using conventional forms of manufacturing so as to provide a structure that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free in operation.